Drew Barrymore’s Interview With Kamala Harris Shows How Even Well-Meaning White People Can Be Cringey

On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris sat down with Drew Barrymore for an interview that’s been called “both extremely uncomfortable and hilarious at the same time” and the “cringiest thing you’ll see this week.” (We’d propose all month, but hey, we’re splitting hairs here.)

The descent into awkwardness began when Barrymore asked Harris about her blended family experiences. Harris has two adult stepkids, Cole and Ella, through her marriage to Doug Emhoff. In 2019, when she was running for president and likely trying to soften her “top cop” prosecutor image, Harris wrote an essay in Elle about Cole and Ella and how they liked to call her “Momala.”

Knowing about the nickname,Barrymore segued into an incredibly uncomfortable tangent.

“I keep thinking in my head that we all need a mom,” Barrymore told Harris, whose body language communicated nothing so much as, “Oh God, where is this going?”

With a tremble in her voice, Barrymore pressed on.

“I’ve been thinking that we really all need a tremendous hug in the world right now,” she said. “But in our country, we need you to be Momala of the country.”

The audience clapped at the corniness while Harris grinned and nodded along, saying, “Yeah, I mean, yeah, no, I know.”

If Harris was a little taken aback, it’s not hard to see why. It’s tough to imagine a scenario where President Joe Biden, or, to use a more exact parallel, former Vice President Mike Pence, would be asked if he could “be the daddy” of our country.

But it’s also not surprising that Barrymore went there. The former child star is a notorious close talker and a big-time hugger on her daytime talk show. When her guests are truly engaged with her, her emotionality works in her favor. (As a talkshow host, she can be